[Faith-talk] non-christians on this list

Sat Apr 23 03:54:46 UTC 2011

Kirt,

The key difference between Protestants and Catholics is that Protestants 
believe in a Great Apostasy. Catholics, Orthodox and Anglicans do not.

The latter group also has trraditions that were not writen in the Bible, 
but have been handed down from Apostolic times and so are considered 
part of Jesus revelation. Among these are the immaculate conception of 
Mary and her assumption. Thee immaculate conception means that from the 
very beginning of her existence she was given the grace to avoid all 
sin. It has nothing to do with sex.

In aany group the ultimate authority is the group itself, most 
importantly its founder and current leaders. This is as true of 
Protestant groups as of the Catholic church. The Magisterium and the 
other parts of the Vatican bueaucracy cannot proclaim new beliefs, they 
can only formalize beliefs held by the faithful since the beginning.

Now I don't find it improbable that Joseph Smith had visions when he was 
14. a lot of people do. What they mean may be hard to say. Most 
Christian groups reject them beecause they add to and sometimes 
conflict, with the Bible, and in the case of some, tradition.

I have LDS friends. Some claim that the LDS is not a Christian group. 
However, they do follow Jesus' teachings in the main. They just have 
some scriptures of their own. There is much good in those scriptures. I 
am not advocating the LDS, and I have grave doubts about Joseph Smith's 
later career.
s. Lewis mere Christianity?

Blessed Easter,
John

I haven't heard about anonymous Christianity. Is it like C.
On Fri, Apr 22, 2011 at 01:28:20PM -0600, Kirt Manwaring wrote:
> John,
>   I never replied to your message earlier.  Thanks for your answers
> about the Majesterium and Tradition.  So, if I'm understanding right,
> it is your belief that the majesterium/teaching arm of the Roman
> Catholic church is simply clarifying the revelation already given.  In
> other words, Jesus was and the Bible was the complete Revelation of
> God.  If I'm understanding right, the biggest disagreement between
> Catholics and Protestants is a matter of interpretation of the Bible.
> For you, am I right in saying the interpretation provided by
> tradition/majesterium is authoritativ and the only "correct" way to
> look at scripture, while in Protestant Christianity it is more open to
> the reader's own interpretation?  I know that's a huge generalization,
> but would you say I'm right there?
>   Anyways...I'm also curious about another statement you made.  You
> said something to the effect of believing Joseph Smith's vissions were
> genuine, but not valid.  So...for you, as a Catholic, do you think he
> was misguided?  Partially inspired but ultimately mistaken in taking
> it too far?  Inspired by the devil?  I won't get offended, I want your
> honest opinion and I'm not going to take it personally.
>   And, religious dialogue is definitely important...I'd say escential.
>  I think there's much to learn from all religions, and personally I'm
> convinced God has inspired them all.  That doesn't mean I believe with
> everything every faith claims, but I see the hand of God throughout
> the religious world.
>   I have one other question for you.  Are you familiar with the idea
> of anonimous Christianity?  If so, what are your thoughts on it?
>   God bless,
> Kirt
> 
> On 4/21/11, John J. Boyer <john at godtouches.org> wrote:
> > I'm definitely Christian, but I'm all for interrelitious dialog. In
> > fact, I think that is part of my particular work of evangelization. If
> > you go to my website, http://www.godtouches.org you will see that it's
> > motto is "peace, love, service". I think that my work of evangelization
> > is to spread these attitudes of Christ even in the secular world.
> >
> > John
> >
> > On Thu, Apr 21, 2011 at 09:25:24PM -0600, Kirt Manwaring wrote:
> >> Dear list,
> >>   I very much enjoy all the devotionals and prayer requests and
> >> discussions on here.  I'm pretty sure it's one of the few worthwhile
> >> distractions in life.  But I am curious, and I definitely don't mean
> >> to offend, if there are any non-christian regular readers of this
> >> mailinglist?  I don't mean to procelyte, and I don't want this thread
> >> to turn into an overblown theological debate, but I'm very interested
> >> in talking with and learning from people from other faiths.  If that's
> >> you, and you wouldn't mind talking, would you please email me
> >> off-list?  I won't procelyte- I won't try to baptize you or anything.
> >> I just want a friendly dialogue.
> >>   God bless,
> >> Kirt
> >>
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> >
> > --
> > John J. Boyer, Executive Director
> > GodTouches Digital Ministry, Inc.
> > http://www.godtouches.org
> > Madison, Wisconsin, USA
> > Peace, Love, Service
> >
> >
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> 
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-- 
John J. Boyer, Executive Director
GodTouches Digital Ministry, Inc.
http://www.godtouches.org
Madison, Wisconsin, USA
Peace, Love, Service